If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. — James Madison

Judge Feeley is no angel.

He’s a flawed jurist who has admitted that he gives tougher sentences to American citizens dealing heroin than he does to immigrants. (“If he was a citizen, I’d send him — I’d probably do house (of correction) time — but I’d send him to the house.”) Who has admitted that he gives lighter sentences to drug dealers who deal for what Feeley considers good reasons. (“This was not a drug addict who was dealing to fund his own addiction, but … for what he thought was in the best interest of his family.”)

In other words, Judge Feeley is a freakin’ idiot. But he’s an idiot who wears a robe and swings a gavel, so he gets special protections from we, the people.

Led by GOP Rep. Jim Lyons of Andover, there’s a move to remove Judge Feeley from the bench. Not surprisingly, this move is opposed by the people who benefit from being inside the system. The Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, for example, oppose even the mere mention of removing a judge.

“Threats of impeachment will have a chilling effect on all judges, prompting harsher sentences even as the Massachusetts Legislature has passed criminal justice reform intended to reduce the unnecessary and expensive incarceration of mostly African-American and Latino men that has torn apart families and had drastic consequences on our society,” the group said in a statement.

Is anyone shocked that the people who get rich getting criminals back on the streets as quickly as possible want to keep Judge Feeley right where he is? He’s their Tom Brady, except they want him on the bench. Literally.

So here’s the question for Feeley’s defenders — what does he have to do before you’ll admit it’s time to fire him? He already released a child rapist on $100 bond. Feeley lowered the bail for a guy arrested on gun charges, who killed Somerset County Sheriff Cpl. Eugene Cole after his release. What would it take?

Ah, but that’s the point — Feeley’s friends don’t think judges should ever be removed — at least, not by mere peons like us. They believe judges should be beyond the reach of citizens in the name of impartial justice.

James Madison and Thomas Jefferson thought this was hogwash. Judges are just people, not angels. They don’t govern us, they work for us. Which is why Rep. Lyons is right when he asserts that it’s the Legislature’s proper role to stand in judgment of Judge Feeley.

“We have oversight. That’s our job. And we have a process, which is what we’re following. It’s very simple and transparent,” Lyons told me yesterday.

“And I want to see how many elected representatives of the people will stand up and say, ‘Judge Feeley deserves to keep his job.’ No legislator I’ve talked to has said that to me yet.”

Liberal former judge Nancy Gertner is saying it, of course, because she’s a believer in keeping criminals out of prison anytime a judge can get away with it. In the Boston Globe-Democrat, she denounced criticism of Judge Feeley as “an unjustified attack,” and complained that it sends a message — “even to judges with life tenure” about how they should do their job.

And what, pray tell, is wrong with the people in a democracy telling public servants how to do their jobs? Oh, right — people like Feeley and Gertner and that liberal California judge who let the Stanford sex offender off with three months served, they’re above us. They don’t serve us, they govern us. One thing the Trump presidency has revealed is that liberal Democrats no longer believe in “Democracy.” Like the corrupt teacher played by Matthew Broderick in the (hilarious) movie “Election,” they only respect the will of the voters when we vote the same way they do.

When it comes to judges or governors or anyone else in power, there are only two choices: Democracy or tyranny. Judge Feeley has fed us plenty of the latter. It’s time for the Legislature to remind him of the power of the former.

Michael Graham is a regular contributor to the Boston Herald. Follow him on Twitter: @IAmMGraham.